Port Phillip.'] TERRA AUSTRALIA 215 
the shore, to examine the arm of the port running in that direc- 1802. 
April. 
, tion. Friday 30. 
Three natives having made their appearance abreast of the 
boat, we again landed. They came to us without hesitation, received 
a shag and some trifling presents with pleasure, and parted with 
such of their arms as we wished to possess, without reluctance. 
They afterwards followed us along the shore; and when I shot 
another bird, which hovered over the boat, and held it up to them, 
they ran down to the water side and received it without expressing 
either surprise or distrust. Their knowledge of the effect of fire 
arms I then attributed to their having seen me shoot birds when un- 
conscious of being observed ; but it had probably been learned from 
Mr. Murray. 
At noon, I landed to take an observation of the sun, which 
gave 38 0 7' 6" for the latitude ; my position being nearly at the 
northern extremity of Indented Head. Some bearings were taken 
from the brow of a hill a little way back ; and after a dinner of 
which the natives partook, we left them on friendly terms, to 
proceed westward in our examination The water became very 
shallow abreast of a sandy point, whence the shore trends nearly 
south-west ; and there being no appearance of an opening to 
the sea this way, I steered across the western arm, as well to 
ascertain its depth as with the intention of ascending the hills lying 
behind the northern shore. Two of the peaks upon these hills 
had been set from the ship's deck at sunset of the 25th, at the dis- 
tance of thirty-seven miles ; and as their elevation must consequently 
be a thousand feet, or more, I expected to obtain from thence such a 
view of the upper parts of the port, as would render the coasting 
round it unnecessary. 
The width of the western arm was found to be six miles ; and 
the soundings across augmented regularly to 6 fathoms in mid-chan- 
nel, and then decreased in the same way; but there was less than 
3 fathoms at two miles from the northern shore. That side is 
V 
